Voter guide: Here are the statewide ballot measures on the November ballot

Nebraskans are expected to see three statewide ballot initiatives covering two topics when they vote in the general election this November. But the road to the ballot has not been an easy one. Lawsuits, challenges and allegations of false signatures have dominated headlines in recent months. With the election nearing, here’s what the measures aim to change.

Fairness for Girls ballot measure

The Fairness for Girls measure will go before voters this November as number 442 on the ballot. It aims to create a constitutional amendment to keep trans athletes out of women’s public K-12 and collegiate sports.

The advocacy group behind the initiative petition said it wants to protect female athletes’ safety and opportunities for young girls. The petition circulated earlier this year said the new constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would “establish constitutional protections for sex-separate athletics to ensure equal access to athletic opportunities for females.”

Athletic teams or sports designated for "females, women, or girls" would "not be open to students of the male sex" under the proposed amendment, though there is no similar language barring female students from sports designated as male.

Advocates, like Fairness for Girls leader, attorney and former state Sen. Julie Slama, said the group believes Nebraskans will not only benefit from the law, but support it.

“You’re not only risking injuries to girls competing against them, but moreover girls are missing out on scholarship opportunities and medal spots,” Slama said when explaining the group’s concerns.

Organizers of the petition turned in 211,000 signatures in late June.

A petition to amend the constitution requires gathering valid signatures from at least 10% of Nebraska’s registered voters – or around 126,000 people.

Slama said at the time the 211,000 total was the largest number of signatures collected for a petition effort in state history.

“We made a little bit of history today,” Slama told Nebraska Public Media News. “We’re absolutely thrilled at the work of hundreds of Nebraska volunteers and thousands of petition signers who put their names to put common-sense protections for girls sports on the ballot in November.”

Support for the initiative hasn’t all been local.

A May campaign statement submitted to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (NADC) showed a conservative political action committee called “Restore the Good Life Inc.” contributed at least $3 million to fund the effort. Other contributions came from the Nebraska Family Alliance, a conservative advocacy group.

Those millions have been used to pay petition gatherers. In March and April, according to NADC records, Fairness for Girls paid $3 million to Vanguard Field Strategies, a Texas-based offshoot of GOP consulting firm Axiom Strategies that provides paid door-knockers and petition gatherers to Republican candidates and causes.

Out Nebraska, an advocacy group for LGBTQ people, has opposed the petition effort, saying the proposed constitutional amendment would do “real damage” to transgender kids.

“The ‘Fairness for Girls’ initiative is not a grassroots effort to protect girls’ sports. It has received the majority of its funding, more than $3 million, from a dark money nonprofit,” the organization posted in June. “It is designed to permanently embed into Nebraska’s constitution a policy that was already passed as regular law, specifically making it harder to change or challenge that law.

“Transgender students are not a threat to girls’ sports. They are kids who want to play. OutNebraska knows that Nebraska is for all of us. That includes every young person who wants to be part of their school community.”

Sen. Kathleen Kauth pitched and passed a law that restricted participation in women’s sports last year. But she said she’s worried that future lawmakers may want to undo her work.

“What’s really sad is that there’s controversy, that we can’t acknowledge biological reality,” Kauth previously said. “One of the things we always worry about when we pass a law is that it can be unpassed.”

The Stand with Women Act restricted participation in women's sports teams to athletes who have the corresponding sex assigned at birth.

It defined female as “an individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization." The law similarly defined males but replaced the word "eggs" with "sperm."

In early September the Nebraska Supreme Court declined to consider a challenge brought by a voter against the Fairness for Girls initiative. The court is scheduled to hear another challenge later this month.

Online sports betting ballot measures

Two ballot measures aiming to legalize online sports betting in Nebraska will be included on the general election ballot.

The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office announced in August that it certified enough of the nearly 350,000 total signatures supporting the two initiative petitions for them to go before voters this November. They will be numbers 440 and 441 on the ballot.

The group behind the petitions, Tax Relief Nebraska, turned in more than 201,000 signatures in late June for its petition seeking a constitutional amendment to legalize online sports betting in the state. The group collected 146,000 signatures for its petition to create the regulatory framework to tax the wagers and direct 70% of the tax proceeds to property tax relief, the same percentage that comes from casino taxes.

Currently, all sports wagering must take place in person at one of the state’s five racetrack casinos. Some lawmakers and business leaders have argued the in-person limit is causing Nebraska to miss out on millions of dollars in bets placed in neighboring states like Iowa, where it’s legal to make an online sports bet anywhere in the state.

In testimony to the General Affairs Committee in 2024, a casino industry representative in Nebraska estimated the state is losing $30 million in annual tax revenue to states where online sports betting is legal. GeoComply, a software company that specializes in geolocation compliance, told the committee that between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, it blocked 4.5 million attempts from Nebraskans trying to access legal mobile sportsbooks in other states.

Over the course of a year, data shows that people crossed the state’s border to bet on their phones 40,000 times in states where it’s legal — mostly Iowa.

If voters approve the measures this November, betting apps would have to partner with an established racetrack casino to function. Platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel would also be required to run a gaming server within the state.

The petitions have drawn controversy over their funding and alleged international influence from big names in the sports betting world.

A national group asked the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission to investigate after FanDuel and Roar Digital, a subsidiary of MGM, donated more than $3.5 million combined to Tax Relief Nebraska.

Michael Teter, executive director at the Legal Accountability Center, which filed the complaint, said the two gambling giants are owned by companies with leadership and headquarters in Ireland and the United Kingdom, warranting an investigation.

“We're concerned that the information that we do have that's publicly available would indicate that there is a need to investigate,” Teter said last month, “because outside of those two entities meeting the exception within the statute, then it is a violation of the law.”

He added that FanDuel has donated at least $25,000 to Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ campaign since 2025. He, along with Gov. Jim Pillen, have each received $70,000 from casinos in Nebraska and online betting or daily fantasy sports platforms since last year.

WarHorse Casinos, which operate in Lincoln and Omaha, have publicly backed the petitions and have donated $20,000 to Pillen’s campaign since 2025. In April, WarHorse Director of Government Relations Lynne McNally said the company’s support of politicians is no different than any other lobbying industry or organization. She added that WarHorse contributes to candidates who will understand its issues.

In addition to the funding controversy, a new coalition called Save Nebraska Sports is organizing to oppose the measures.

Representing the group, Nebraska Family Alliance Executive Director Nate Grasz said online betting platforms don’t care about Nebraskans.

“They are seeking to make a profit at the expense of Nebraska families, businesses, fans and student athletes,” Grasz said.

Fullbacks and returners coach for Nebraska football Ron Brown, State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg and State Auditor Mike Foley also spoke at the group’s launch at the Capitol. Foley said the projected amount of tax relief from online sports betting would require Nebraskans to lose more than they would get back.

“As state auditor, I feel an obligation to inform the cities you're being scammed on a false promise of property tax relief,” Foley said, “which is very sensitive to you. False promise of getting tax relief when you're not going to get it.”

Many of the speakers also highlighted recent surveys by the NCAA that show 36% of men’s basketball athletes have experienced social media abuse.

Grasz has previously claimed that voters reported “materially false statements” by canvassers. One video recording showed a petitioner saying online wagering was already legal in Nebraska.

The property tax relief fund would receive 70% of the online wagering taxes collected, which is the same allocation from in-person wagering taxes. Grasz said the amount of expected property tax relief from mobile betting — an estimated $61 million over five years — is marginal compared to the $25 billion five-year property tax burden statewide.

Mike Sciandra with the Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling is officially neutral on the subject but wants to ensure proper safeguards exist. The council provides gambling addiction education and advocates for the availability of problem gambling treatment.

Respect Nebraska Voters is off the ballot

The Respect Nebraska Voters petition initiative sought to make it more difficult for the Legislature to repeal or change voter-enacted laws. Despite organizers collecting enough signatures for the initiative to go before voters, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Sept. 10 that a violation of the single-subject rule will keep it off the ballot.

The court found that the ballot measure violates the single-subject rule because it would limit the Legislature’s authority to regulate the initiative process, itself, in addition to raising the vote threshold for legislators to modify voter-enacted laws.

In its single-subject analysis, the Nebraska Supreme Court agreed with Evnen that those changes constitute “at least two subjects.”

“The Initiative would not only strengthen the requirement of a Legislative supermajority necessary to ‘amend, repeal, modify, or impair a law,’ it would fundamentally change the balance of legislative powers between the people, through the reserved powers, and the Legislature,” the court wrote in its opinion.

In a statement following the ruling, the Respect Nebraska Voters campaign said it was “deeply disappointed” in the decision.

“The Respect Nebraska Voters campaign was born out of statewide frustration at recent attempts by lawmakers to weaken the ballot initiative process and dilute the voices of everyday Nebraska voters, seen most recently with the undercutting of the minimum wage increase and a rollback of earned paid sick leave that took coverage away from 140,000 hardworking Nebraskans,” the statement said.

Sponsors of the initiative filed a lawsuit against Evnen in late August after he announced that it would not appear on the November ballot because it contained more than one subject. Under the Nebraska Constitution, initiative measures “shall contain only one subject.”

The amendment would have subjected any legislation to “facilitate and safeguard” the initiative and referendum process to the four-fifths threshold, and would make invalid any legislation that “conditions, restricts, burdens or otherwise impairs” that process. Legislation would be valid “only to advance a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

The proposed amendment called to change two sections of the Nebraska Constitution. Under Article III Section 2, the Legislature can “amend, repeal, modify, or impair a law enacted by the people by initiative” with a two-thirds majority of the 49-member body. The amendment would change that threshold to four-fifths of the Legislature.

Article III Section 4 would have also seen changes under the proposal. Currently, the Constitution establishes that the Legislature can enact legislation to “facilitate the operation” of voter-enacted initiatives and referendums.

The Respect Nebraska Voters coalition officially launched its campaign in January, stating that recent voter-approved laws have been modified or delayed in implementation – "undermining" what Nebraskans have voted for.

Organizers cited recent ballot measures, including ones approving paid sick leave, minimum wage increases and medical marijuana, that Nebraska voters approved but have since faced legislative debate, modifications or delays in implementation.

In early July, organizers turned in more than 186,500 signatures in support of the constitutional amendment.

At an event when the signatures were turned in, Jo Giles, an official sponsor of the petition, talked about what motivated the proposal.

"It's about paid sick leave, minimum wage, and other kitchen table issues that impact our family's lives. But it's also bigger than that. It's about our freedom to make decisions about our lives," Giles said. "Too many politicians think they know what's best for Nebraskans, that they know better than the people that elected them. But Nebraskans know what's best for Nebraskans."

Allegations of fraud

This year has been plagued with issues surrounding Nebraska’s petitions efforts, with accusations of fraudulent signatures prompting investigations into the process.

Pillen and Evnen held a joint press conference in early September, where they announced plans to seek legislative reform of the paid petition circulator model.

Starting this summer, the Nebraska State Patrol and local county law enforcement started widespread investigations of the alleged fraud for statewide and local petition efforts.

The Secretary of State’s Office and local election officials analyzed over 767,000 signatures that were submitted to counties in support of 17 separate petitions for this upcoming election, Evnen said.

In Lincoln, more than 13,000 signatures from one petition group were suspected of being fraudulent. Seven paid circulators have been arrested due to suspected fraud.

Pillen’s hope is to move away from the pay-per-signature model.

“Moving to an hourly compensation model reframes the circulator's role, encouraging thorough and accurate and lawful conversations with everyday Nebraskans rather than warp speed, warp speed quota chasing,” Pillen said at the conference.

That model was used by On the Ballot LLC, a subcontractor of Vanguard Field Strategies. Vanguard — a subsidiary of GOP consultant Axiom Strategies — has previously worked on Nebraska ballot initiatives such as “Institution of Voter ID” and "Protecting Women and Children.”

Vanguard recently did field services work for the Fairness for Girls petition, according to filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

This isn’t the first time the state has looked to tighten restrictions on petition gathering.

In 2008, LB39 required petition circulators to be Nebraska residents, banned per-signature pay and enforced age requirements. The Legislature reversed that prohibition for paid circulation in 2015.

One Nebraska group, though, opposes banning commission-based pay.

Grant Friedman with the ACLU of Nebraska said a proposal for commission-based pay would limit Nebraskans’ ability to engage in the initiative process.

“We have everything from, you know, your outside million dollar-funded, all the way down to grassroots people here, everyone's a volunteer,” Friedman said. “And so when you're looking at who these are going to affect the most, it is going to be the individuals that are making committees in their community that are looking to provide, you know, some kind of way to make sure people can live while doing the initiative.”

He said the Nebraska ACLU will continue to monitor any legislation regarding paid circulators moving forward. Previously, the ACLU successfully challenged Nebraska’s ban on out-of-state circulators in 2009.

Nebraskans have an opportunity to discuss and learn more about the three ballot measures at a series of upcoming public hearings in October.

The public hearing schedule in Central time is as follows:

Congressional District 1

State Capitol, room 1525, 1445 K St., Lincoln

Wednesday, Oct. 14

Fairness for Girls: 6-9 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 15

Online Sports Regulation Authorization and Regulation initiatives: 6-9 p.m.

Congressional District 2

Omaha Public Libraries Millard Branch, Meeting Room 1, 13214 Westwood Lane, Omaha

Saturday, Oct. 24

Fairness for Girls: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Online Sports Regulation Authorization and Regulation initiatives:1:30-4:30 p.m.

Congressional District 3

Buffalo County Extension Building Bison Room, 1400 E. 34th St., Kearney

Thursday, Oct. 22

Fairness for Girls: 2-5 p.m.

Online Sports Regulation Authorization and Regulation initiatives: 6-9 p.m.

Important election dates and reminders

Nebraska’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voting begins when county election offices start mailing early voting ballots in September.

Voters can cast their ballots early, in person at their respective county election office starting Oct. 5. Voting in person at county election offices will end Monday, Nov. 2. All early voting ballots are due back to county election offices by the close of polls on election day. Ballots received after the polls close will not be accepted.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters can locate their polling place online at Nebraska’s VoterCheck system. There, voters can also verify that their voter registration information is up to date and preview their ballot once those are finalized by county election offices.

There are two voting registration deadlines ahead of the general election. Oct. 16 is the final day Nebraskans can update their voter registration information or register to vote online, by mail, at the DMV, via personal agent or via deputy registrar. Oct. 23 is the final day Nebraskans can update their voter registration or register to vote in person at their respective county election offices.